Harley Killer or Wannabe? Indian Sport Chief 116!

Today we're jumping into the most heated debate among motorcycle enthusiasts everwhere! Is the 2023 Indian Sport Chief 116 a Harley Killer or total wannabe? Here's my in-depth ride, review, and impressions of the bike.

tag: harley vs indian motorcycle sport chief indian, review, ride, impressions

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[davidcampbell]

I sold my harley, bought a Springfield darkhorse, got some apes and never looked back.

[luisprado]

Que onda güero. Great content on your channel! I own a Chief Bobber 116, Fat BOB 114(traded a Street bob '13), Scout Bobber and a Dragstar 1100 '99 custom. I always say that I enjoy the best of 2 worlds, there are things to love about the Fat Bob like better maneuvering, short wheel base, sporty feeling, however the Chief feels effortless when twisting the throttle for speed and power, comes with cruise control, great for the long haul, I'm not a big fan of tech ornaments, the power commander is nice, but just me, I could be as happy with analog and LCD. Regarding my Scout, I've ridden her from Dallas to Mexico city, no problem, my old Yamaha visited Alaska a few decades ago, my point is, competition pushes manufacturers to improve and innovation, I can't and won't say something negative about Indian and the current Softail M8 lineup. Again, great content here.

[MrHoneyBadgerActual]

Just got back today from picking mine up in Michigan (better deal than in Tennessee) and rode the whole 500mi in a day, no problems what so ever.

[kashanimous]

Good to see you back man! I've been kicking around the idea of test riding one of these this spring. Last week I went to an Indian dealer to check one out. I wasn't super impressed with the fit and finish. The button housings on the handlebars were loose and rattled. The foot pegs also seemed really sloppy for some reason. The infotainment took like 45 seconds to boot up, and the salesman had to turn the bike over twice before it started (I've seen this happen on another video of the sport chief). I'm kinda glad I didn't love it to be honest. It'll save me a ton of money haha

[bnplaza]

great picking up an FTR. I don't want to deal with the Harley reliability and dealerships.

[tonyheymunkets]

Glad to see you back doing reviews it seems to me that everybody copies Harley but Harley rarely if ever copies anyone else That being said that Indian is definitely the best Harley copy

[donrudeboyt]

Test road one on a demo day. I feel that the risers should have a pullback. One thing I noticed is the weight felt higher than on my Chieftain. Suspension felt as expected for what it has. Have never ridden Low Rider S, so can’t compare.

[Rowski]

Dude, , , Good review, I subscribed before the video ended. Comfort, Speed and Handling, , , choose two. that is epic and sums up all bikes and there pro's and con's I've owned 4 bikes, , , last one brand new. I completely agree. It is the same thing as I have preached about cars for a long time. "cheap, fast, 2"

[unlawfulorder]

Harley fans stay mad at anything that isn’t Harley. Out here acting like they’re sponsored by the brand. 😂

[heinegamskjr]

Sad that you didn't use the sport mode, 'cause that would have made you able to do a wheelie 😉 Got a Sport Chief myself and sport mode turns off "all" the limitations to the engine and sets the ignition and airflow to a much harder driving 😍🥰 You can not NOT Love this bike after trying it in sport mode, just saying 🤷🏼‍♂️😉 TBO I haven't had it out of sport mode since 🫣🤭

[JP-ecrl]

If you've ridden any Indian after riding a Harley and don't realize that it's at least an out of the box superior machine when it comes to handling and suspension and chassis, you're completely delusional to the fact that you're a hopeless brand loyalist fanboi.
If you admit that you'd rather ride a Harley just because of nostalgia, I'd say that that's respectably honest.
I've owned both and don't hate Harley's, I just like my Indian better.

[mrmurphy]

I didn’t realize that the Scout bobber has more horsepower @ 100.

[JAMMAJ-cqbl]

Good to see you again Jon. Keep up the good work bro.Cheers🙏👍

[GoDadGo]

Hey John! I got the chance to ride the Chief and the Chief Sport on an Indian test ride day up here near SLC, Utah and man!…. I thought I’d fly off the back of the seat when I put it in sport mode! It was seriously the most fun I’ve EVER had on a bike and I’d love to get one from Indian and make some vid’s up here. You’re an inspiration to me to ride, to be a good dad, and to do what you love. Can’t wait to ride one of those again.

Hit me up if you wanna ride together if you’re ever up near SLC, man! That would be rad to meet you and make a quick ride video with you!

[GearHeadMoto]

I test rode a Sport Chief a year ago. I got my Dyna built up to be similar to that of a T-Sport. I love my Dyna and figured I'd give the Sport Chief a shot. I loved the the Sport Chief except for on two different things. I didn't like how I could feel the vibration through that grips. Yes I know my Dyna vibrates like crazy but I have aftermarket grips that take away that Vibration. 2nd thing was I felt like the fairing was too low on the bike and the windshield would vibrate like crazy towards the top of it. With that being said I loved how the bike handled. The sport mode should be called God mode because it completely changed the experience on that bike. I test rode one with the factory taller risers with exhaust and was very comfortable on it. Put a two into pipe, a set of leatherpros, and a different seat and I'm good to go on this bike.

[jacquesferhaniarnaut]

Good to see you back hermano (is that bro in Spanish? No clue lol). I love this bike, but I don’t $19k love it though. Just sayin’

[drewyager]

Love my fat Bob 114 but this Chief is looking pretty sweet

[Yourdadsbestfriend]

Please keep making vids bro! You inspired me to get an 02 DX and stunt it out and its by far the best thing I've ever done!

[JaySorsby]

That’s a pretty sweet bike. The proportions are a bit off to my eye, but that’s just me probably.

[riderdav]

I got one in the icon blue, came from an sv650, I'm 5'10 ~135lbs. I sat on scouts, lowriders, irons blah blah and I liked it the most. Comes with all the right goodies and was far cheaper than a lowrider, I live in Sturgis and because of the rally the upcharge on bikes is insane. For a used lowrider s with minimal upgrades they wanted $32, 000. Fucking scalpers. Way more bang for buck for 10k less